Market turnover in December 2010 averaged a little more than Rs 17,000 crore a day. This is low compared with the last eight months of 2009, but not unusual for 2010.

Combined turnover in the NSE and the BSE was lower than this in February, May and July 2010 and only slightly higher in June.

The unusual thing about December, and the preceding two months, was the level of FII activity.

After averaging 11 per cent in 2009, FII activity grew in 2010, with fluctuations around a rising trend, to 16 per cent in October and November, and 17 per cent in December.

What this means for the market is hard to say, because, as in the case of January-June 2009, during January-June 2010 too (the latest period for which SEBI data on FII trades is available) there was a tendency for gross FII activity to be highest both for stocks in which FIIs made the largest net buys, and for stocks in which they made the largest net sales.

As a corollary, the share of FIIs in these stocks, was well above their share in turnover; 26 per cent for Reliance Industries (heading the ‘gross activity list' with net FII buys of Rs 3,014 crore), 35 per cent for Infosys (at number 2, with net sales of Rs 942 crore) and 22 per cent for ICICI Bank (at number 3, with net buys of Rs 1,692 crore).

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